Making my first trip to the farmers market by Grand Army Plaza this year, I picked up some fresh mackerel from the fish stand. Mackerel is the type of fish you want to get as fresh as possible since it has a poor shelf life. Now I usually cook this very flavorful fish in a very minimal way – sprinkle some salt and pepper, sear in a pan and serve with a wedge of lemon. Today however, I came across this recipe from Mark Bittman and decided to give it a go.

Ingredients
1/2 cup soy sauce
1/3 cup sake or dry (fino) sherry
1 tablespoon sugar
2 tablespoons rice vinegar or white wine vinegar
5 or 6 thin slices peeled fresh ginger
Finely grated zest of 1 lemon
3 or 4 crushed garlic cloves
4 mackerel fillets, about 1 pound total, skin on
Cooked white rice for serving
Chopped scallions for garnish

Method

1. In a 12-inch skillet with a cover, mix together all ingredients except fish, rice and scallions. Add 1/2 cup water. Bring to a boil and simmer over medium heat for about 5 minutes, uncovered.

2. Add fish skin-side down and simmer until cooked through, 7 to 10 minutes. (You can hasten cooking a bit by covering pan, but it is not necessary.) Spoon a fillet and some sauce onto a mound of white rice; garnish and serve.

via Recipe of the Day: Mackerel Fillets – Bitten Blog – NYTimes.com.

The sauce is quite delicious by itself and a good accompaniment to the rice. Sprinkling a few drops of lime adds a nice tang to the sauce.